Unitary state

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A unitary state, as the name suggests, is a state where all governmental power granted through the constitution or other government charter is vested in a single government for that state. This is in contrast to a federation, where the constitution or other charter gives irrevocable powers to lower governments. This does not mean that unitary states do not have lesser governments or administrative divisions, just that these lesser governments are devolved and that their powers can be revoked by a general decision of the larger government, rather than requiring a constitutional amendment. For example, Swilatia is divided into fifteen provinces, although not by the constitution. Unitary states where some power is disseminated in such a manner are also referred to as devolved states.

List of unitary states

List of devolved states

See also